Study dates
by CrumbKitty
Summary: When Saeki left, Waka-sensei would study with me. But it wasn't the same. Saeki x Heroine, one-sided Waka x Heroine one-shot.


_**Author's Note: When I wrote this, I was so addicted to this game. Amazing, amazing game.** **I based this off of how Waka-sensei and Saeki would study or do activities with you. After Saeki left, Waka-sensei would study with me in the game instead. It spawned this fanfiction. **_

_**T****his is my first fanfiction for this fandom. I wrote it a month or two ago, so there might a few errors.**_

_**Thanks for reading. And much love for this tiny fandom. **_

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><p>Ever since Saeki-kun left, I had noticed that doing simple things had made me feel empty. It felt empty, without him there. Waka-sensei decided to join me, sometimes—many times, actually—while I exercised and studied. Yet, it wasn't the same. Waka-sensei is very different from Saeki-kun. No one could be like Saeki-kun.<p>

Still, Waka-sensei and I studied.

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><p>Waka-sensei was reading off the periodic table to me and also showing me a magazine about cats. He's a strange person, that's for sure. But I don't question it, because he <em>is <em>so different.

Yet, I couldn't focus on any of it. Not even the cute cats. Not even the adorable way Sensei would sing the elements. I just couldn't take it anymore. The ache in my heart was a bit too much. The emptiness in my body was all I could focus on. It made simple things, such as studying, a chore.

I push away my books, which makes Waka-sensei look at me with a concerned face. "Is anything wrong, Mizuno-san? Do you not want Sensei to sing? I'm sorry if Sensei bothered you."

"Waka-sensei?" I say, pausing a bit as I looked directly at him. "Have you ever loved someone you knew you couldn't be with?"

Sensei's eyebrows furrow as he thinks. He looks at me for a moment or two, and just gives me a sad smile, the corners of his lips upturning only slightly. "Ah, yes, yes, I have."

I think back to the first day of school, many many years ago. How some girls asked if he had a girlfriend, and how he responded with such an odd answer. I wonder if it was her he was thinking of.

My face scrunches up involuntarily. Poor Waka, he's too nice. Though he is my teacher, and much older than I am, I felt oddly protective over him. "How…how did you deal with it?" My face flushes a bright, unappealing red as I ask this. I fiddle around with my bangs. "If you don't mind telling me, Sensei, of course." I hide behind my hair and glance up at him.

"Of course I don't mind, you're my star pupil," He smiles at me, "And friends tell each other these things, do they not?" Waka-sensei watches me for a few minutes, in thought. His face is a canvas of concentration. It's kind of cute, in a way. He bites his lip. "Ah, Sensei doesn't ever give up. Some may say it's hopeless, but Sensei still tries. I try spending as much time as possible with her…even if she doesn't realize my love, I still get some comfort from being around her." He smiles at me.

"Oh." I feel special that Sensei is telling me these things. His words give me a small amount of comfort, but I can't help but feel my situation with Saeki is different. It feels more hopeless.

"I-I…S-sensei, you see, what if I can't spend time with them? T-they're…gone." I feel tears fill my eyes. Oh, please no, not in front of Waka-sensei.

Waka-sensei notices this and he leans on the desk, closer to me. His face is only a few inches from mine. I can smell coffee, and a hint of vanilla. My heart races, and I don't even know why. His pale hand reaches out and brushes my bangs away from my face. My face turns a red from the contact.

"Don't cry…nothing, nothing is ever hopeless, okay? Listen to me, Sensei might not know how to teach, but he's at least a little bit smart."

I try to look away, glance down-anything to break his gaze, really—but he reaches out and lifts my chin up and holds it in his hand. We stare at each other for a few minutes until he lets go of me.

"Love is a difficult matter, right? Well, for some people. But your Sensei's star pupil. I expect great things from you. You're smart, talented, kind, pretty-" He pauses and cuts himself off. Waka-sensei blushes a bit and scratches his head. "Uh, of course, Sensei means pretty…pretty, um, likeable! Yes, Mizuno-san is pretty likable!"

I give him a tiny smile.

"Ah, there's Sensei's star pupil's adorable smile again~ I missed it." He grins at me.

I stick my tongue out at him.

He turns serious as he continues, "Sensei actually does have a point, you know. I may get off topic, but I have a point. Mizuno-san, you are a nice girl. And soon you will be a nice young lady. If Saeki-san does not come back for you, then he is an idiot. Plain and simple~"

My face turns a bright, bright red. "Eep, who said anything about Saeki-kun?"

"Oh, right, well. Sensei means if someone has left you, wait. They will come back. And, furthermore, whoever doesn't like you...or whoever leaves you is an idiot. If I were them...I'd never let you go."

I find myself giggling. "Thank you, Sensei. You really have helped much during these past few weeks."

He smiles. "Sensei is always glad to help a star-pupil."

Waka-sensei returns to the desk next to me. He turns to whatever work he has to do. We sit in silence, him grading papers, and I read. I find myself needing to say something, anything to sensei. Yet, we sit in silence for another thirty minutes until I clear my throat.

"Waka-sensei?"

"Hmm, yes?" He glances up from his papers for a moment then looks back down.

"I hope that whatever girl you like…well, I hope she realizes how..um, a-amazing you are. I hope you get what you want."

Waka-sensei looks at me, my skin once again feeling hot under his gaze. He smiles down at me, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. It's a sad smile, and it doesn't really suit my gentle but fun-loving Sensei. "Yes…I hope that too."

I turn back toward my books and start reading about the history of chemical compounds. I hear the inhaling of a breath, and I glance back up. Sensei is still there. He exhales and runs a hand through his messy hair." "Ah, Mizuno-san?"

"Yes, Sensei?"

He bites his bottom lip. "I also hope your love finds you."

I smile at him. "Thank you, Waka-sensei. That means a lot."


End file.
